Guest Commentary: Climate change and cold spells can co-exist

8:22 PM,
Jan. 8, 2014

Written by

Steven R. Griffith

I tell my students in meteorology: three hot summers and three warm winters does not mean climate change is happening; three cooler summers and three cold winters does not mean climate change is not happening. It is natural for us to be influenced by whatever weather is happening around us. We are human after all. But in doing good science - in getting at the truth - we need to be skeptical. We need to use evidence to overcome our personal biases. In the case of climate change, we must look worldwide, we must look long-term, and we must use good data.